Thanh Hoa canned pineapple is popular in the international market

Vietnam Agriculture Processing and Export JSC is located at Long Anh commune, Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province. From 2016 up to now, the company specializes in processing canned pineapple products and having them pasteurized to export to China, Russia, Australia...

At present, the canned pineapple processing line of Vietnam Agricultural Processing and Export JSC has reached 300 tons of raw pineapples per day and can be upgraded to 400 tons of raw pineapples per day. On average, this company exports 10-15 containers of goods monthly (about 320-480 tons of products), each year earning an export turnover of about VND 35 billion. The company creates jobs for 70 workers with a stable income of VND 6-7 million/person/month and for thousands of farmers in the central provinces indirectly.

According to Mrs. Nguyen Thi Van, Deputy Director of Vietnam Agricultural Products Export and Processing JSC, in order to have a stable source of raw materials, the company has signed a principle contract on monthly raw pineapple products supply. Based on this contract, the focal points will transport pineapples that meet export standards straight to the factory.

As shared by Mrs. Van, pineapples that meet export standards must have standard inputs, sufficient ripeness and sugar rate, have enough isolation time for pesticides in the permitted list, pesticides and stimulants outside the list must not be used. After the pineapple arrives at the factory, workers will process it into pieces, have it pasteurized, canned, and cooled. The product can be kept for 3 years (before expiration) under normal temperature conditions.

“Canned pineapple products for export have strict requirements on food safety and hygiene standards, so we have to tighten the input phase. Once the finished pineapple is available, the product will be sent for inspection at the Plant Protection and Food Safety Department before being packaged and exported to markets around the world. If the product does not meet the standards, it is most likely that we have to cancel the shipment because even if we want to, in order to keep the product’s reputation, it is impossible to ship those goods to partners," said Mrs. Van.

In accordance with Ms. Van, this is the time when the price of raw pineapple is at a high level (sometimes peaking at VND 8,500/kg), not to mention this occurs while Covid-19’s development is being complicated. In addition to the high cost of input materials, the transportation fee also increased by 25-30%, so businesses are also facing many difficulties in the transportation phase. Meanwhile, the contract with partners has been signed, so even though it is at a loss, the company still has to continue processing.

As shared by Mr. Vu Quang Trung, Deputy Director of Plant Protection Sub-Department of Thanh Hoa province, the province currently has over 3,000 hectares of pineapples. Based on experience, Thanh Hoa’s pineapple growers will grow a lot of tea on an area to both rolling-wave harvest and guarantee to balance and regulate the market price.

Up to this point, Thanh Hoa pineapple growers have harvested about 1.5 thousand hectares. Pineapple output for early harvest (May 4, 2021) is well priced and consumed through the Dong Giao Import - Export Company, 2 canned pineapple processing and exporting companies in the province and other private traders. The price of fresh pineapple in the field sometimes ranges from VND 6000 - 8000/kg, the profit in pineapple production reaches VND 80-120 million/ha, so farmers are very excited.

Representative of Thanh Hoa province's Department of Industry and Trade assessed that for the locality, pineapple export is an area full of potential, however, businesses in the area at the moment only export canned pineapples, so the economic value is not as good as expected.